Motor-driven hydroplane for rescue purposes (ice rescue)

ABSTRACT

A keel-less “vehicle” (boat, boat body, gliding device or locomotive device or boat device) is to be designed in such a way that it is equally suitable for use, preferably for rescue missions, on water and ice surfaces. For this purpose, an engine-driven locomotive device comprising a catamaran-like main body of at least two parallel, mutually spaced, inflatable tube bodies ( 1, 2 ) and a bottom ( 6 ) disposed between said tube bodies at a distance from the respective tube body underside ( 4 ) and a propeller propulsion ( 25 ) supportable on the vehicle body is suggested.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a locomotive device, in particular an engine-driven boat having a catamaran-like body of at least two parallel tube bodies disposed in a mutually spaced relationship and a bottom disposed between them at a distance from the underside of the tube bodies (claims 1, 2 or 3).

Such a keel-less “vehicle” (boat, boat body, gliding device or locomotive device or boat device) is to be designed in such a way that it is equally suitable for use, preferably for rescue missions, on water and ice surfaces.

The boat device according to the invention is especially suited for rescue missions on water bodies such as lakes, whose body of water usually freezes up at least partly. Mostly, rescue missions with only floating boats are no longer possible in these cases. A rescue mission across a large ice surface is troublesome and time-consuming. This also applies to fire brigade missions from the mainland on an island, the water being frozen up. As opposed to this, a rescue mission is not hindered with the locomotive device according to the invention, it being possible to rapidly and safely carry out the mission carrying along any necessary rescue equipment and a rescue team, since the locomotive device can be moved with equal safety and speed and without the difficulties of transition both on ice and on water.

The bow area of the boat body may be a further tube body uniting the two tube bodies or a rod (claim 4 or 5). A slide-on slope is formed in the bow area (claim 3) which makes the gliding onto ice safe and impact-free during transition from water to ice. The gliding on only a frozen surface, driven by the propeller, thus takes place without trouble, as well.

The area defined by the tube bodies is preferably occupied by a relatively firm bottom (claim 2), which is disposed at a distance from the gliding surface and lowered with respect to the center of the tube bodies. Towards below this bottom is completely covered by a second bottom part which may consist of the same or a similar material as the outer tube cases (claim 6). Rubberized Kevlar tissue is very well suited. During movement on an ice surface an air cushion is formed between the raised (covered) firm bottom and the gliding surface, which provides for a buoyancy and, thus, for instance for a higher speed (with the same driving power) or causes a load on the ice with lower contact forces during the drive.

A frame support for the propeller propulsion may be affixed to the firm bottom, preferably in an easily detachable fashion.

Further advantageous developments of the invention result from the dependent claims.

The rescue of persons who when through ice surfaces is made possible by a hinged bottom flap so that it is not necessary to heave the victim across the tube bodies (claim 13).

The invention is based on the object of further developing an engine-driven device of the mentioned type in such a way that it can be easily, reliably and effectively used in the situations mentioned at the beginning. In this connection it must be taken into consideration that difficult conditions may prevail during these missions such as the frequent alternation of water and ice surfaces, piled up ice or pack-ice, strong or gusty wind or pebbles and boulders with sharp edges and the like. It must be possible to use the locomotive device under all weather conditions and the device must be capable of accurately and quickly heading for sites of an accident that are difficult to access.

An important prerequisite for achieving the objects aimed at is provided, namely the corresponding design of the vehicle body itself (claim 1 and/or 21).

Due to the use of two different bottoms which are matched to each other, a compact composite design of all appertaining elements is obtained after inflation. Both bottoms cooperate during inflation in order to achieve this composite design since the flexible bottom safely limits the maximum distance between the inflated tube bodies to a fixed value across their entire length and the other bottom, matched thereto with its transverse dimensions, is compression-tensioned, i.e. “clamped”, due to this. This results in a high dimensional stability and load-bearing capacity in transverse direction (first rigidity), whereas an inherent flexibility of the bottom material is not reduced in longitudinal direction (second rigidity). This certain flexibility in the longitudinal direction is still supported if the measures according to claims 7 and 8 are used. Then, the transversely extending bottom plates are surrounded by elastically flexible rod sections on their edges adjoining the tube bodies. The first rigidity is higher than the second rigidity (claims 22, 19 or 9).

Due to its transverse stability which is increased due to the clamping, the boat body can

-   -   directly and safely receive the load of the means necessary for         propulsion and control and ensure their perfect cooperation;     -   reliably receive the propulsion and brake forces and safely         transmit them to the tube bodies across their entire length;     -   ensure a safe drive also under the aforementioned difficult         conditions.

The steerability and lateral stability when driving on ice surfaces is clearly improved by the wear strips directly disposed on the lower side of the tube bodies, which, preferably, have sharp guide edges (cf. claims 10 and 11).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,257 certainly shows a vehicle that is to be usable on water and on ice. For this purpose, two tube bodies are inserted into a shell body and tied up with it by means of straps. Should the shell be flexible, this would mean that the distance of the tubes is changed, wherewith the entire rod-shaped structure that is strapped to the tube bodies with the straps would be distorted. If this is to be avoided, the shell as a whole must be practically rigid, which renders the motion on rough ice extraordinarily more difficult and impairs steerability of the device to a great extent. The load of the propulsion and appertaining means must be directly received by tube bodies which are flexible per se. The propulsion force of the drive is predominantly only transmitted into the bow area to that point where the two tube bodies meet and, from there, it is transmitted to the ends of the tube bodies via an inflated tyre. The vehicle is hardly steerable on difficult, irregular ice surfaces, in particular in view of the difficult weather conditions that prevail at the same time. Due to the attachment of the propulsion and control means directly on the tube bodies, the free space necessary for rescue missions and the appertaining means is missing on the device.

FR-A 2,323,573 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,757 show rigid, profiled boat bodies, in which floating bodies are inserted or formed.

WO-A 01/12501 starts from a different objective, namely to provide components that can be assembled to manifold shapes in order to obtain vehicles with a different length or width and different propulsions for different purposes. Only a bottom is provided in all embodiments, which consists of hollow chamber plates which are firmly connected both at their edges adjoining each other and the tube bodies and are additionally stiffened by stiffening elements (there 88). The distance of the inflated tube bodies is determined by this bottom. Skids can be mounted on the undersides of the tube bodies through complex and partly inflatable substructures with a construction height that corresponds approximately to the diameter of the tube bodies themselves. Wear-resistant guide strips for increasing the lateral stability and steerability, which are directly mounted on the underside of the tube bodies, are not provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail in the following by means of schematic drawings and examples of embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the structure of a keel-less boat device;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the main body with the supporting frame being supported on the bottom;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the structure of the main body;

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section with further details;

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the design according to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a detail of a contact area of one of the tube bodies on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 7 shows the lateral view of a detail;

FIG. 8 shows a detail of the clamping of the firm bottom;

FIG. 9 shows a modified design of the clamping;

FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the stern part with further details;

FIG. 11 shows a lateral view of a further detail;

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of one of the two parallel tube bodies with skid part stabilizing lateral stability during the drive;

FIG. 13 shows a modified example of embodiment in the same representation as FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows a top view of the arrangement of FIG. 13 (from below);

FIG. 15 shows a lateral view of a further detail in the stern area.

As is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the main body of this motorized locomotive device substantially consists of a catamaran-like arrangement of two parallel tube bodies 1 and 2 preferably subdivided into chambers. As shown in this example of embodiment, said tube bodies may connected to each other at the ends pointing in the direction of motion by a bow part 9 or a rod 5 that also consists of a tube section (FIG. 5). The front sections of the bodies 1 and 2 are inclined forwards and upwards at the angle α in order to thus form a slide-on slope and to facilitate transition from water to ice or ice floes.

The tube bodies are connected to each other by means of a flexible bottom layer 5 according to FIG. 3, which is preferably made of the material of the tubes and is firmly connected to the bodies, preferably by means of gluing. The connecting line 5 a is located between the underside 4 (plane 4 a between two undersides) and the plane 3 of the tube bodies 1 and 2, which connects the tube centers, this being evident from the distances a and b. The edges of a further bottom 6 adjoin along the connecting line, which may consist of wood, rigid plastic material or the like. Said bottom 6 consists preferably of several plates of so-called marine plywood. The bottoms 5 and 6 are dimensioned such that, with the tube bodies being inflated, the bottom 6 is clamped between the tube bodies and the fastening area 5 a of the bottom 5 at 6 a under tension in an inner shoulder that is limited on two sides, in order to determine distance c. Said bottom 6 serves as a supporting and assembly bottom and is correspondingly dimensioned.

FIG. 8 is a modified clamping assembly of bottom 6 on the diverging tube section 2 a showing details of the clamping position 6 b at a vertical distance a1 from the underside 4.

A modified embodiment of the areas is shown in FIG. 9, where the bottom plates 6 adjoin the tube bodies 1, 2 and are held there. A U-shaped rod section 69 that is elongate vertically to the plane of projection grips over the plate edges adjoining the tube bodies. A web 69 a projects from its closed side in the direction of the adjoining tube body 2. A further rod section 67 is located above the web which, on the one hand, nestles around the closed end of section 69 and, on the other, against the outer skin of the tube body and supports web 69 a from above. From below, the web is supported by a hard rubber section 68 which like rod section 67 is firmly connected to the tube body by means of gluing (along the adhesive strips 67 a and 68 a). The second, flexible bottom 5 is glued to section 68 and the tube body at 5 b. If the tube body is firmly inflated, rod section 69 is firmly clamped between rod section 67 and hard rubber section 68 and, thus, bottom 6 is safely anchored between the two tube bodies. A protective strip is shown at 8, which will be described in greater detail in connection with FIGS. 3 and 6. The bottom 6 and/or the bottom plates arranged in a row are held in the U-shaped section with screws (not shown).

The tubes and the additional bottom 5 are designed in a reinforced fashion, e.g. with a rubberized Kevlar tissue. Resilient strips 7 or 8 are affixed to the contact area of the tubes and the underside of the bottom 5 for protection against friction, said strips 7 consisting of a wear-resistant material. Several of said strips 7 are in each case disposed at a mutual distance in the contact area with an arcuate cross-section according to FIG. 6. The lateral edges of strips 7 and 8 are preferably of a sharp-edged design so that they contribute to improving the lateral guiding and steerability of the vehicle on ice. The sharp edges 7 b are preferably provided on an additional supporting cover 7 a of strips 7, 8 so that they act as skids.

A front area 17 according to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 of the bottom construction is designed as a part swivelling about the transverse axis 18. The bottom portion 5 is not fastened to the bow portion 9 and/or the rod-shaped connection 9 a with its front edge and, in lateral areas, is connected to bodies 1 and 2 forming one fold 5 a each in this area, which make a downward swivelling of element 17 in the direction of arrow 20 possible. The actuation of the flap-like bottom 17 takes place through a biased actuating means 19. This facilitates the rescue of persons who can be carried more easily into the vehicle over the slope. If, instead of the bow portion, a connecting rod 9 a is provided, rescue is still further facilitated since the rod may also serve as a grip.

A frame support 10 is fastened to the bottom 6 in an easily detachable fashion, e.g. by means of four bolts, on which, in the example of embodiment, the drive (via supporting rods 20) and all equipment elements of the vehicle can be mounted. In the example shown, the support 10 consists of a rear portion 11 and a front portion 12.

In the example of embodiment shown, a motorcycle-like seat box 30 with steering means 32 is mounted on the front portion 12 of the frame element 10. The propeller propulsion is shown in FIG. 1 at 25 to 27.

The ends of the two tube bodies are firmly connected to each other by an approximately upright stern plate H, which, preferably, is also made of marine plywood. Said stern plate may be used for supporting various additional means.

According to FIG. 15, a blade-shaped rudder 15 which is lowerable between a standby position and an effective position and connected to the handlebar in parallel to the lateral rudder 27 may be provided on said stern plate in order to support steering in water. Said blade 15 is connected ti a liftable and lowerable swivelling support 51 which can slide up and down in a sleeve 51 a and is rotatably connected to said sleeve via a toothing, whereas the sleeve itself is rotatably mounted and connected to the sheathed cables 53 of control 32 through lateral arms 52. Everything is mounted on the frame support 10.

Moreover, braking elements for slowing down the vehicle during a drive on ice may be mounted on the stern plate H. As is shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 11, said braking elements may be designed with one or two arms 13 a, 13 and they may be pivotable about a transverse axis 55, 55 a and comprise brake spikes 54, 54 a on their free ends. Arm 13 is under the bias of a strong spring 58 which is locked at 59 or arm 13 a is pneumatically 58 a controllable. The locking bar may be loosened by means of sheathed cable 60. The supporting box 56 is the mount for mounting the brake elements. The ice surface is outlined with 57.

According to FIG. 10, elements may also be mounted on the stern plate H, which serve for a transport or locomotive possibility on land, if the glider is not being used, such as an arrangement with a supporting wheel 62 on a crank means 64 with vertical drive 63 which is capable of being extended and retracted in order to lower or lift the supporting wheels depending on the type of use. Two auxiliary lines 65, 66 are drawn which make a symmetric arrangement possible, however, a one-sided arrangement is also realistic. If a symmetric arrangement is chosen, the two mounting positions are symmetrically located along the auxiliary lines 65, 66 on both sides of the central plane (the vertical central plane) of the boat body. The described supporting wheel means (61 to 66) may be used in connection with a lever that is guided on a wheel, which is used on land on the opposite (bow) side, said lever having an upwards projecting nose portion (not shown) for engagement with a recess, e.g. a groove, which is provided on the bow and points downwards. The nose portion is substantially shorter than the lever and they are at an angle to each other which is greater than 45°, preferably between 60° and 150°, in order to insert the nose portion into the recess by means of a swivelling of the longer main lever, so that the boat can be lifted and, drawn by the longer lever arm, be driven on the supporting wheel that is supported on the rear side.

In order to improve the lateral stability of the vehicle when driving on ice, cutting-edge-like skids 38 may be provided on the tube bodies. The length of said skids must be chosen small, based on the length of the bodies 1, 2, preferably less than ¼ of the length, so that the flexibility of the bodies 1 and 2 is not restricted and steerability is maintained. A length of between 5 cm and 60 cm proved its worth. Advantageously, they are disposed in the rear or front area. In the shown example of FIG. 12 to 14, each skid 38 consists of a cross bar 39, from which the blade edge 40 projects.

A controllable central skid (in the transverse center) may form a skid triangle with the other two fixed skids, e.g. two skids near the bow on the tube bodies and a central skid on the stern plate H. The control skid that is located in the transverse center is coupled to the control of the lateral rudder 27. The control skid may be pressed towards the ice surface by means of a spring force in order to increase steerability, above its skid it may also be designed as a plane paddle in order to be able to implement steering in water. Spring bias and a shaping that forms slide-on surfaces ensure sliding onto an ice surface and/or the driving over ice floes or the like.

The fastening of skids 38 is implemented by means of clamping using the tensions formed on the tube cover 35 during inflating of the tube bodies 1 and 2. According to FIG. 12, clamping pockets 36 and 37 are affixed to the cover 35, which encompass edges of the element 39 in order to press said element 39 firmly against the cover 35, it being also possible that the plate element 39 is arched slightly upwards.

In a modified embodiment according to FIGS. 13 and 14, hooks 43 and 46 which encompass the edges of element 39 are provided in each case on longer shackles 41, 44, which are disposed in a side-by-side relationship and whose end portions 41 a or 44 a are affixed to the tube cover 35 at 42 or 45. The shackles 44, 41 are flexible. When the bodies 1 and 2 are inflated, the shackles are pulled in contradirectional directions due to a widening of the intermediate element 35 a of tube 35 and thus clamp element 39 firmly between the hook-shaped ends 43, 46.

As is shown in FIG. 14, three shackles are sufficient for a respective skid section. The shackles 41, 44, 47 seem to cross each other in the front view, but are adjacent in the top view.

It is evident that the vehicle is of a simple structure and has a comparatively low weight. It can be easily handled and accommodate additional equipment and persons. It is equally suited for driving on water and ice and, consequently, it can be used in a multi-purpose fashion, even under difficult conditions such as storms and thunderstorms. 

1. An engine driven locomotive device having a catamaran-like main body of at least two parallel, mutually spaced, inflatable tube bodies (1, 2) and a bottom (6) being disposed between them at a distance from the respective underside (4) of the tube body and a propeller propulsion (25) supportable on the vehicle body.
 2. An engine driven device comprising a keel-less vehicle body of at least two parallel, spaced (c), inflated tube bodies (1, 2) and a substantially rigid bottom (6) disposed between said tube bodies, on which a propeller propulsion (25) is mountable in raised position (20, 21) and at least one gliding skid element (7, 38, 39, 40) being disposed on each of said tube bodies, which results in a lateral stability and steerability during the drive.
 3. Glidingly movable device for rescue missions on frozen ice surfaces comprising a vehicle body of at least two elongate and substantially parallel tube bodies (1, 2) having each an inner hollow space and a tube body underside. a. a firm bottom (6) being clampable between the substantially parallel tube bodies (1, 2) and at a distance (a, a1) from the tube body undersides (4), but below a central plane (3) of the tube bodies, for forcing the tube bodies apart; b. a flexible bottom tarpaulin (5) being firmly connected to the parallel tube body undersides near the clamping positions of the firm bottom (6) in order to determine a maximum distance (c) of the tube bodies, the firm bottom being clamped; c. the tube bodies (1, 2) having a bow portion and a stern portion, said bow portion rising towards the front in order to form a slide-on slope for locomotion on frozen ice surfaces.
 4. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the two parallel tube bodies (1, 2) are connected to each other on the bow side by means of an approximately arcuate, inflatable tube portion (9) which rises towards the front as compared with the parallel tube bodies in order to form a slide-on slope for transition from a water surface to an ice surface.
 5. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the two parallel tube bodies (1, 2) are designed in an obliquely rising fashion towards the bow and connected to each other in the area of the higher ends by means of a rigid transverse element (9 a).
 6. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a lateral surface delimited by the tube bodies is filled by the substantially rigid bottom (6) which adjoins the parallel tube bodies at a vertical distance (a, b) both from the undersides (4) and from a plane of the diameter centers (3) of the parallel tube bodies and is covered towards below by a second bottom portion (5), said bottom portion (5) consisting in particular of the material of the tube bodies or a corresponding material, said second bottom portion (5) being firmly connected, in particular glued (5 a, 5 b) at least to the parallel tube bodies.
 7. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, the tube bodies (1, 2) being inflated, the rigid bottom (6) is clamped under bias and held in this fashion (6 a, 6 b; 68, 67) with its side edges substantially at the height of the fastening line of the second bottom portion (5).
 8. A device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the bottom (6) consists of several flat bottom sections (6) which are in particular made of marine plywood and which, on their edges adjoining the tube bodies (1, 2), are jointly bordered by an approximately U-shaped portion of a first rod section (69), which, in turn, engages into an approximately angular rod section (67) which is affixed, in particular glued, to a respective tube body; or is clamped between the rod section (67) and a hard rubber section (68) which is affixed, in particular glued, to the tube body; or the firm or rigid bottom (6) may be inserted between two spaced profile elements (67, 68) which are disposed on the tube body or is removably held (69 a) in deflated condition of the tube bodies.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the two rod sections (67; 69) consist of elastically resilient material.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the flexible gliding strips (7, 8) of wear-resistant material are provided as gliding skid elements on the underside surfaces of the parallel tube bodies (1, 2) and/or also of the second bottom portion (5).
 11. A device as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that several gliding strips (7) are disposed at mutual circumferential distances on the underside surface of each inflated tube body (1, 2), which is of an arcuate cross-section, and the lateral edges of all gliding strips (7, 8) are designed as sharp guiding edges (7 b).
 12. A device as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the sharp guiding edges (7 b) are provided on a wear layer (7 a) applied onto the gliding strips (7, 8).
 13. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the bottom (6) comprises, in an area that is in front in the driving direction, a bottom portion (17) that is swiveling about a transverse axis (18) by means of an actuating means (19) between a raised driving position and a downwards inclined rescue position.
 14. A device as claimed in claim 13, characterized in that, in the area of the swiveling bottom portion (17), the second bottom portion (5) is connected with the rising bow area of the two tube bodies (1, 2), forming in each case a fold (5 a) that permits the swiveling movement.
 15. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one gliding skid (38, 39, 40) which improves the lateral stability during driving is disposed on at least one selected longitudinal section of each of the two parallel tube bodies (1, 2).
 16. A device as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that sections of the skids (38 to 40) are held on the tube bodies (1, 2) in especially resilient mounts (36, 37; 41, 44) which are fixedly attached to the tube bodies by tension forces alone that are created in the cover of the tube bodies by means of the inflation of the tube bodies.
 17. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the two ends of the tube bodies (1, 2) are connected to each other by an approximately upright stem plate (H), on the outside of which holds for optionally attachable or optionally lowerable support wheels (61 to 66) are provided at a distance from the longitudinal central line of the locomotive device.
 18. A device as claimed in claim 8, wherein assembly means engage in the U-shaped portion of the rod section in order to firmly connect the bottom (6) to said rod section.
 19. A device as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein a retainer is provided in the bow area, which points towards the underside, for engaging a lever guided on a wheel, which comprises an upwards projecting nose portion for engagement into the groove and for the one-sided lifting of the vehicle in order to be able to guide it by hand on at least one support wheel (62) that is disposed at the stern together with the lever arm provided with the wheel.
 20. A device as claimed in claims 1, 2, or 3, wherein the weakly resiliently stiff or substantially rigid first bottom (6) has a stiffness in the transverse direction between the tube bodies, which is greater than its stiffness in the longitudinal direction.
 21. An engine-driven device for locomotion on water and ice surfaces, comprising a main body which is designed in catamaran-like fashion in the inflated condition of at least two parallel, spaced and inflatable or deflatable first tube bodies (1, 2), in which device a. a weakly resiliently stiff or substantially rigid first bottom (6) is clampable or clamped between the inflated tube bodies and at a first distance (a, a1) from the tube body undersides (4), but at a second distance (b) below a plane of the diameter centers of the tube bodies; b. a flexible second bottom (5), in particular made of the material of the tube bodies or a corresponding material, is disposed below the first bottom (6) and is firmly connected, in particular glued, to the parallel inflated tube bodies near the clamping positions of the first bottom (6); c. the two inflated tube bodies (1, 2) or a tube body portion which connects their bow side ends to each other and is arcuate in inflated condition form a slide-on slope, which rises towards the front, for transition from a water surface to an ice surface and vice versa; d. flexible gliding strips (7) of wear-resistant material are provided directly on the underside surface of each of the first tube bodies (1, 2).
 22. A device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the weakly resiliently stiff or substantially rigid first bottom (6) has a stiffness in transverse direction between the tube bodies (1, 2) which is greater than its stiffness in longitudinal direction. 